Average Wedding Cost for Musician/s, Soloist, or Ensemble

$612 is the average wedding cost for Entertainment Musician/s, Soloist, or Ensemble in United States

Roughly 21% - 31%
of couples purchase this

Note: Average Cost is based on the spending of couples recently married not wedding vendor prices.
This includes all types of weddings, event locations, purchases of both new and pre-owned items and purchases of services from professionals,
someone that simply provides the service, or a hired family member or friend.
Spending and prices can vary widely.

The best way to figure out how much you might spend for your wedding is to use the wedding cost estimator

Start your wedding budget with the Wedding Cost Estimator

Better than a wedding budget calculator, use the wedding cost estimator to create a budget starting point or a wedding budget checklist

What's Typically Included in Entertainment > Musician/s, Soloist, or Ensemble

Individual musicians or groups playing during your chosen events (ceremony, cocktail hour, dinner, after-party) for the terms of the package you choose, usually by hours.

Their equipment and sound systems

Setup and takedown

Additional Cost Items to Look Out For

Time and travel to audition musicians

Staging for their performance area

Lighting for their performance area

Booking multiple acts for the different stages of your wedding day, such as a harpist for your ceremony, a pianist for your cocktail party (maybe dueling pianists,) an acoustic act for the start of your reception, a guitarist for your after-party. Each group has its booking fees and packages per hour.

Having multiple performers in different areas of your wedding venue like violinists outside on the grounds and a pianist inside

Musicians' travel

Feeding all musicians at the cocktail party and reception

Adding extra hours to a package prior to the wedding

Overtime fees

Tipping

Why Does It Cost This Much?

Professional musicians train for years, get an education, work many events, and will often only work one event per night. You're paying, in part, for the musician's years of practice and investment in their craft, and their performance at the ceremony, cocktail party, reception and after-party creates a mood and energy level for your events. Talented musicians own the room, captivating guests, and reflecting well on you for your fine taste in unique entertainment that fits your style of wedding.

They'll advise you on the amount of time they need, and it may surprise you that performers for the cocktail hour actually need four hours to complete their set-up, performance and takedown.

Soloists and specialty performers may not be as in-demand as deejays and bands, so they may not be booked as often as those types of entertainers. Thus, they have to charge a bit more to make a living as performers. And specialty acts located far from your wedding's location will have to travel there and back, all part of their timed package.

For this type of entertainer and others, overtime will boost those prices, so plan well and invest in more time than you think you'll need. When the entertainers have your after-party rocking, you'll want them to stay longer.